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cady_sass's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Dementia, Death of parent, Gun violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Car accident, Chronic illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Medical trauma
kristinj1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Medical content
cursed_sapphire's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
My only real complaint is that the main character's arc fell a bit flat at the end- mild spoiler, but
I will definitely check out Blake Crouch's other books based on this one. This was the fastest I've finished a book in a while, and was a very rewarding experience.
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Torture, and Medical content
strawberrypinch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Drug use, and Gun violence
Minor: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Dementia, Terminal illness, Blood, Cannibalism, Gore, Car accident, Torture, and Suicide
m_liz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Gore and Medical content
katrinarose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Confinement, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder
reading_between_the_trees's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I liked the message at the end about compassion, but other than that, I felt that the plot was mostly just violence, unnecessarily going really in-depth into science jargon that wasn’t explained well, and descriptions of guns. Made it very not engaging. I also didn’t love that all the non-men characters in the book were either not trusted enough to be involved or ended up betraying humanity in selfish and manipulative ways.
My biggest discomfort with the book was the mental/physical upgrade. Even though the message of the book is that intelligence isn’t what’s going to save us, we spent a tremendous amount of the book reading what felt like a fantasy of all the super smart and athletic things the main character did. On top of that, the mental traits paralleled autistic and ADHD traits (lack of sensory gating, studying people to understand their social cues, processing things quickly, not being able to slow down conversation and not interrupt people), so the conclusion that he couldn’t be part of his family and was lacking what made him human felt SUPER ableist.
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Medical trauma, Medical content, Torture, and War
Moderate: Vomit
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Child death, and Death of parent
whatjasread's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
- it wasn't bad, conceptually it was actually very interesting, but it definitely needed editing
- lots of introspection and not a lot of plot progression, plus the final 10% felt like a drag that i just wanted to get over with to the point where I skimmed it mostly
- a weird case of it needing to be shorter but also needing to be longer - cut the repetitive waffle, add more insight that isn't introspective
- thought provoking at times, but definitely one that you have to really think about, not really a book you can 'get lost in'
- confusing at times with the enhancements that worked in some scenarios but not in others
- i have only read one blake crouch (dark matter) but this doesn't come close to it, i'm afraid
TWs: vomiting, hospitalisation, explosion, violence, gunshot wounds, gun violence, death of father (past, suicide), death of mother, death of brother (past, leukemia), death of sister (murder), strained family relationships, murder, torture, needles, blood, gore, scarring, drug use, smoking, alcohol consumption, animal abuse/testing
Thank you to bookbreak and the author for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Vomit, Cancer, Alcohol, Car accident, War, Drug use, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Grief
marareading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
We follow our main character Logan Ramsey in a dystopian future. He works for the GPA (Gene Protection Agency) and lives with guilt every day. The human race has survived, barely, what is called the "Great Starvation", and science has developed to a point where anyone can try to upgrade their DNA. The government of course has put a quick stop to it, whether it be the well meaning families trying to help their children, or large scale bio-weapon labs. Logan's job is to stop them. Even when it means stopping the "good" guys who are making real and meaningful advances for the world. He goes on a raid one night and everything goes wrong... more than anyone could have guessed.
This story had me on the edge of my seat. I love the way the science is part of the story, but doesn't feel like a barrier or something you feel you need to understand before reading.
I highly recommend you pick this up in July when it is published!
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Medical content